Hanesbrands to Cut 5,300 Jobs, Close 9 Facilities

Hanesbrands will cut 5,300 jobs, or 11 percent of its current work force, and close nine sewing and assembly operations as it moves production to lower-cost sites in Asia and Central America.

The underwear and apparel maker said Wednesday it will close plants affecting nearly 5,000 employees in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Another 350 management and administration positions also will be cut, mostly in the United States.

The Winston-Salem, N.C., company said the closings, which will cost about $42 million, are a part of an ongoing restructuring effort to make its business leaner and more profitable.

"These efforts are a competitive necessity to strengthen our overall company and its growth opportunities, but we regret that employees will be affected by losing jobs," said Hanesbrands Chief Executive Richard Noll.

The bulk of the layoffs will be in the Dominican Republic, where 2,500 jobs will be eliminated, and in Mexico, where about 2,200 workers will lose their jobs. Another 70 jobs will be cut at the U.S. plant in Statesville, N.C.

Hanesbrands currently employs about 47,000 people. The company said it has added or will add almost 3,000 positions at other company manufacturing plants to absorb the production changes.

The $42 million restructuring costs will mainly come in the fiscal second quarter. The rest will be taken in the second half of the fiscal year, the company said.

The charges, plus previously announced restructuring charges of $74 million, represent nearly half of the approximately $250 million in restructuring charges the company expects to incur in the three years following its spinoff from Sara Lee .

The latest plant closures follow an announcement in May that the company will cut 1,400 jobs and close three sewing and assembly operations in the Dominican Republic.

Since its spinoff from Sara Lee last year, Hanesbrands has announced the closing of nearly a dozen manufacturing facilities in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.